Motor vehicles are commonly supported by pneumatic tires supported on respective wheels, i.e. a tire and wheel assembly. The tire and wheel assembly is among the most important parts of the motor vehicle. Everything concerned with driving, such as moving and stopping of the motor vehicle, involves the tire and wheel assembly. It is well known that a non-uniformed, i.e. improperly mounted and inflated tire and wheel assembly contributes significantly to noise and vibration of the motor vehicle. A tire and wheel assembly that is not properly mounted and inflated results in what is commonly referred to as smooth road shake, resulting in the undesirable vibration of the motor vehicle. If beads of the tire are not properly seated on seats of the wheel, air pressure over, for example 25 psi, may cause the bead to break and the tire and wheel assembly to explode during operation.
Typically, the mounting of the tire on the wheels by automobile manufacturers is normally accomplished by various high production assembly lines. These assembly lines, known in the art, contain conveying means, such as conveyor belts or metal rollers making it possible to move the tires and the wheels, respectively, from one point to another on the assembly line. The tires and wheels are delivered from a supply warehouse on suitable pallets to be further mounted on the assembly line and delivered to customers. The tires and wheels are typically treated by the lubrication solution or soap before the tire is installed on the respective wheel and is inflated.
Various methods and machines have been devised for seating the bead of the tire on or between the seats of the wheel and/or inflating the same. The objective, however, is always to ensure that the bead of the tire are properly seated on the seats of the wheel and are properly inflated to ensure proper functioning of the tire and wheel assembly. The art is replete with various methods and apparatuses for inflating and/or mounting a tire and wheel assembly, which are disclosed in the U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,735,250 to Kane; U.S. Pat. No. 5,339,880 to Kawabe et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 6,502,618 to Kane et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 6,463,982 to Doan; U.S. Pat. No. 6,467,524 to Ronge et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 6,148,892 to Koerner et al.; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,029,716 to Hawk and are widely used today in the automotive industry.
The U.S. Pat. No. 6,029,716 to Hawk, for example teaches an apparatus for inflating a tire and wheel assembly having an inflator head movable vertically to and from a wheel rim of the assembly. The inflator includes first and second chamber flanges aligned axially one with the other. The chamber flanges having fixed first and second diameters with the first diameter being larger than the second diameter thereby permitting the second inflation chamber to fit the bead of the tire a larger size. Two rollers of the apparatus are designed to push the tire over the rim. Each roller is moved relative the first and second chambers at only two fixed distances thereby diminishing capability of the apparatus to assemble the tire of multiple configurations.
Hence practicable, the prior art designs are too complex, non-compact and fit only to be installed and used within established environment of a production line to mount the tires within their respective wheels to undergo further inflation. These prior art designs are limited to two tire sizes dependent upon the diameters of the first and second chambers, as for example the apparatus taught by the U.S. Pat. No. 6,029,716 to Hawk, thereby diminishing flexibility of wheel assembly application which is a prime in a modern manufacturing environment.
But even with the aforementioned technique, to the extent it is effective in some respect, there is always a need for an improved system for mounting tires with and without tubes about wheels of various configurations and diameters to form a tire and wheel assembly and to provide a clearance between the tire and the wheel thereby preventing damage of the tire and the tube disposed inside the tire as the tire is assembled with the wheel.